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A belated Boone homecoming

Editor’s note: Bill Haglund is our newest staff writer, although he’s a veteran of the industry and of the central Iowa area. He will be covering news, sports and writing a column in the Boone News-Republican.

Bill Haglund

Staff Writer

The Model T Ford rocked side to side as the young man drove hurriedly toward Boone.

The car’s stiff suspension accentuated each bump in the gravel road, jostling the two occupants.

“Slow down, Carl,” the 22-year-old woman urged her new husband, grabbing her stomach. “A couple more minutes won’t make a difference.”

But, this experience was new for both. Eleven months earlier Carl Haglund and Lela Knox were wed at the Stratford Lutheran Church. On this night – Monday, Sept. 12, 1943 – they were racing from their home southwest of Stratford toward the Boone Hospital for the birth of their first child.

Both sighed relief when they finally arrived at the hospital in Boone. The next day a 9-pound, 13-ounce boy arrived, the first of three children for the couple.

And, so it came to pass that I once lived in Boone. Only for three days, mind you, but the first three days of my life were spent in the Boone Hospital.

My mother told me the story many times before she passed away several years ago … she even told me that it was a Dr. Reynolds who delivered me. Fifty years later, Dr. Reynolds’ son became my barber in Webster City.

While Boone was my “home” for three days, most of my life – except for seven years in Wisconsin, one year in Sweden, and five years in Texas – I’ve lived within 40 miles of Boone. We lived at Stratford and Duncombe the first nine years of my life, then moved to Alleman where I graduated from North Polk High School. I know there are other folks with the name “Haglund” in the area, including Ogden and Perry. Those, I believe, are descendants of a Haglund clan that settled first in Boxholm, no relation (other than a Swedish heritage) to those of us who are descendants of Andrew Haglund, who settled in Stratford more than 110 years ago.

Often, after we’d moved to Polk County, there were day trips to Ledges State Park and even one class outing to see a movie at the drive-in theater on Old Highway 30 west of Boone. As a 15-year-old Babe Ruth League all-star, our team played at Boone in a post-season tournament.

Now, I’ll be spending three days a week here at the Boone News-Republican. I find that rather ironic, given my background.

My newspaper career began as a sportswriter for the Fort Dodge Messenger 18 days before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. In fact, I learned of that tragedy as I was in a bank to cash my first-ever pay check and discovered all the tellers sobbing uncontrollably.

Later, in the U.S. Army, I was fortunate to play baseball for Uncle Sam and to serve as sports editor for a couple of Army publications. In 1968, I was ending a two-year stint with the Fourth Armored Division in Germany when I was invited to Sweden to play baseball there. And, so I obtained a European discharge and traveled to Sweden where I lived with my father’s cousin and her family, while also playing baseball for Leksands Baseballklubb. We wound up winning the Swedish National championship that year, finishing the season unbeaten. I was fortunate to pitch the first no-hitter ever in Swedish baseball history in June of that year.

Upon return to the U.S., I accepted a job as sportswriter for the Wausau (Wis.) Record-Herald and it was there my life’s path took a right turn.

I met Dave Marcis, a Wausau native who was a NASCAR driver (Marcis raced in more Daytona 500s than any other driver before retiring after the 2002 race). I worked for Marcis in a PR/Marketing role and later obtained my NASCAR mechanic license, working on pit crews for such drivers as Marcis, Joe Ruttman, Jim Hurtubise, Morgan Shepherd, David Sisco and Richard Childress. Later, I helped form the Helen Rae Special team and we competed in NASCAR events with both Marcis and Iowan Phil Barkdoll as driver.

All that time, I remained active in writing circles, as well, serving as editor of National Hawkeye Racing News. At the same time, I was Executive Secretary of the International Motor Contest Association and traveled the country setting up various tracks with the then-new IMCA Modifieds.

Quite naturally, I’ve spent many Saturday nights through the years at Boone Speedway.

In 1991 my wife, Judy, and I founded Mid-States Racing News in Webster City, finally selling that publication.

In 1996 I became General Manager of San Antonio Speedway, a NASCAR short track, but open heart surgery in 2000 pretty much ended my life in auto racing.

Fortunately, when we moved back to Iowa in 2002, I was able to return to the newspaper field. Off and on for the past 11 years I have served the Dallas County News in Adel as Assistant Editor, Sports Editor and, finally, Editor. I have researched the history of automobile racing in Iowa and am now in the process of writing a book on that subject – a book I hope to have completed later this year.

I’ve stepped aside as Editor of the Dallas County News and am looking forward now to spending more time writing, which is my first love. I’ll be spending Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays here in Boone and hope to begin acquainting myself to News-Republican readers.